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Campus librarian heading to national teaching program

February 18, 2013

Campus librarian heading to national teaching program

DuBOIS, Pa. – Carrie Bishop, the reference librarian in the Penn State DuBois Library, has been selected to attend a national training program held by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Bishop will attend the Teacher Track portion of the ACRL Immersion Information Literacy Program this summer at Seattle University, where she expects to learn new and valuable methods for bringing student instruction into the library. Since part of Bishop's responsibilities include the direct instruction of students, she saw the Teacher Track training as an ideal way to enhance her skills.

According to the ACRL, the Immersion Teacher Track focuses on individual development for those who are interested in enhancing, refreshing or extending their individual instruction skills. Curriculum includes classroom techniques, learning theory, leadership and assessment framed in the context of information literacy.

"I am truly excited to be attending ACRL Immersion this summer," Bishop said. "Teaching students how to find, use and think about information, in other words being information literate, is the most rewarding part of my work in the library. Participating in Immersion will allow me to focus on the fundamentals of teaching and return to campus a more engaging and effective teacher."

Karen Fuller, head librarian at Penn State DuBois offered enthusiastic support of Bishop's continued training. She said, "I am very pleased Carrie Bishop has been selected to participate in ACRL’s Immersion Teacher Track program. Not only will her dedication to quality library instruction be enriched through the skill sets offered, Carrie will have the opportunity to collaborate with a variety of library professionals. Our campus instruction activities will definitely be enhanced by the valuable techniques Carrie brings back with her."

The ACRL is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals, dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the needs of the higher education community and to improve learning, teaching and research.

ACRL is the largest division of the American Library Association, with a current membership of more than 12,000 people, or nearly 20 percent of the total ALA membership.